Livestock Disease and African Food Security A serious problem in Africa today is the emergence of rampant, deadly strains of disease that are affecting livestock and ravaging populations of pigs and cattle in many African nations, putting food security at risk in many populations of various nations. With already major food scarcity issues among many emerging African nations, disease will only further pressure an already dire situation for food security in Africa. Livestock play important roles in farming systems, which provide primarily food and income, which is necessary for food security. Nearly 12 percent of the world populations rely solely on livestock for its livelihood.(4) The latest outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the West African island nation of Cape Verde threatens the country's entire pig population, according to a 1996 FAO report. The disease has been endemically present in at least part of Cape Verde archipelago since 1985 - with peaks of morbidity/mortality twice a year, in spring and winter.(1)
ASF is caused by a particularly resistant virus and is a potentially devastating disease. Very few pigs survive infection and those that do are contagious. ASF is endemically present in wild pigs in southern and eastern Africa in a cycle including infected domestic pigs, soft ticks and wild pigs.(1) In various ecosystems of Central and Western Africa there are huge outbreaks of this disease among domestic pigs and the disease occurs elsewhere in Africa. In all areas, infection is most common as a result of contact with infected, recovered or carrier pigs and ingestion of contaminated or infected garba...
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...ture Organization of the United Nations. "Major Outbreak of Swine Fever threatens food security in Cape Verde" 1998. Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/NEWS/1998/980404-e.htm
(2) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAO responds to outbreak of swine fever in Benin" 1998. Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/NEWS/1998/980404-e.htm
(3) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "Intensive surveillance and vaccination campaign checks rinderpest epidemic in East Africa" 1997. Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/news/1997/970707-e.htm
(4) Pig Disease Information Centre. "Pig Health" 2000. http://www.pighealth.com/ Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Background information: EMPRES, FAO. Livestock Disease Scenarios of Mobile versus Sedentary Pastoral Systems. Date? Rome, Italy. http://www.undp.org/seed/unso/pub-htm/pastoral-eng-roeder.htm
Kellems, Richard O., and D. C. Church. Livestock Feeds and Feeding. 6th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
World Health Organization. (2003). The world health report 2003 shaping the future. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=102453
...who have hunted in CWD endemic areas to have their deer or elk tested before they consume the meat in order to prevent ingestion of contaminated meat (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance).
Rift Valley Fever was first reported around 1910, but was not identified until a Kenyan sheep farm was investigated after an epidemic in 1931.1, 2, 3, 5 The common name of the virus was derived from the area which it was identified, the Rift Valley of Kenya.1 A majority of the reported outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever have been contained to Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa.1, 3, 4 The most notable animal outbreak of Rift Valley Fever occurred in Kenya from 1950 to 1951.3, 4 This outbreak resulted in the death of approximately 100,000 sheep.3, 4 An outbreak in Egypt resulted in approximately 600 human deaths and a significant number of animal deaths in 1977.3, 4 In September of 2000, the first cases of Rift Valley Fever outside of Africa were confirmed in Saudi Arabia and later in Yemen.1, 2, 3, 4 Since the confirmation of the disease outside of Africa, Rift Valley Fever has been identified as a priority disease that has the potential to emerge geographically.2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 2012. Web. 01 May 2014. .
“Africa is failing to keep up with population growth not because it has exhausted its potential, but instead because too little has been invested in reaching that potential.” Paarlberg backs this claim with evidence that India’s food issue was solved with foreign assistance in development and offers that the solution to Africa’s food shortage is also development and farm modernization endorsed by foreign aid.
Researchers from the Animal Parasitic Laboratory and Agriculture Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that the linage of Trichinella spiralis originated from Europe over several thousand years ago (Rosenthal, LaRosa, Zarlenga, Dumans, Chunyu, Mingyuan & Pozio, 2008). This is the approximate time when pigs were first domesticated in that region. This implies that the species Trichinella spiralis was introduced to the Americas from pigs. However, there is evidence that the early people of this world, hominid hunters, have consumed foodborne parasites by hunting wild game from millions of years before. Today, swine is governed on the ensuing transmission, and evolutionary diversification.
... Organization/United Nations Children's Fund. (2006). WHO/UNICEF joint statement global plan for reducing measles mortality 2006-2010. Retrieved from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2005/WHO_IVB_05_11_eng.pdf
In 1976 the first two Ebola outbreaks were recorded. In Zaire and western Sudan five hundred and fifty people reported the horrible disease. Of the five hundred and fifty reported three hundred and forty innocent people died. Again in 1995 Ebola reportedly broke out in Zaire, this time infecting over two hundred and killing one hundred and sixty. (Bib4, Musilam, 1)
...ary 2014)”. The Ebola epidemic helps remind the U.S. That other nations are there to work with them, and unite to prevent a rapid growing disease. CDC partners with programs from other nations, such as the Global Disease Detection Centers, and the Field Epidemiology Training Program, which work to stop the Ebola virus. Information systems will grow stronger, more partnerships dedicated to stopping outbreaks will be formed and laboratory security will also grow. The writer of the paper cannot agree more to this.
In 2016 the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH, had begun a clinical trial of a vaccine designed to protect people against yellow fever viruses. The WHO has reported a total of 3,682 cases of yellow fever with a death toll of 361 as of July 21, 2016. It is said there have been more than 105 million people in Africa who have been vaccinated against the virus since 2006, despite the success of how many people who have been vaccinated there is also a shortage of vaccine supplies. Since then there has been no outbreaks of yellow fever in West Africa during
Malaria is a deadly disease that is transmitted to humans via bites from infected female mosquitos carrying malaria parasites. People who develop the disease often become “very sick with high fever, shaking chills, and flu-like symptoms” (CDC). According to National Geographic, "malaria now affects more people than ever before. It's endemic to 106 nations, threatening half the world's population…This year malaria will strike up to a half billion people. At least a million will die, most of them under age five, the vast majority living in Africa,” (National Geographic). The high concentration of malaria-afflicted citizens in Africa can be attributed to the conducive climate for mosquitos, the sheer number of mosquitos, and most importantly, the inability for many countries to sustain enough anti-malarial resources, medical care, and preventative measu...
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects cloven-hooved livestock and wildlife. Although adult animals generally recover, the morbidity rate is very high in naïve populations, and significant pain and distress occur in some species. Sequelae may include decreased milk yield, permanent hoof damage and chronic mastitis. High mortality rates can be seen in young animals. Although foot and mouth disease was once found worldwide, it has been eradicated from some regions including North America and most of Europe. Where it is endemic, this disease is a major constraint to the international livestock trade. Unless strict precautions are followed, FMD can be readily re-introduced into disease-free livestock. Once this occurs, the disease can spread rapidly through a region, particularly if detection is delayed
National Department of Agriculture: National Directorate Veterinary Services, 2001. Submission to the foot and mouth disease& other epizootics commission of the OIE for the re-instatement of a foot and mouth disease free zone without vaccination, August 2001. [Online] Available: http://www.daff.gov.za/docs/GenPub/fmdreport.htm Accessed: 18 March 2014
It is ridiculous to imagine that 80% of all of the world’s agricultural land is being used for animal production. These resources could be used to feel millions of hungry/malnourished families (Duden).